Thomas Grove Carter, video editor at Trim Editing in London:

On the 27th October Apple unveiled their new line of MacBook Pros. Since then half of what I read online seems to be “Professionals” (those guys), telling me it’s not Pro at all, not Pro enough or not the right kind of Pro. How many of these people have even touched the new devices?

Very few.

I’ve been using the new 15” MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar) for the last week or so for actual work, so here’s my “Professional” opinion.

And:

First off, It’s really fast. I’ve been using the MacBook Pro with the new version of FCP X and cutting 5k ProRes material all week, it’s buttery smooth. No matter what you think the specs say, the fact is the software and hardware are so well integrated it tears strips off “superior spec’d” Windows counterparts in the real world.

And:

The version I’ve been using is powerful enough on the graphics front to power two 5K displays, which is an insane number of pixels.

And:

I was very skeptical about the addition of the Touch Bar. It looked like the result of an incestuous fling between a keyboard and an iPad mini (with Retina display). But I also felt skeptical about insert tech you use all the time now originally too. Once you begin to use it, you’ll see. Your cold heart will soften.

The first revelation for me was the potential of sliders. Gradual, precise and fast inputs.

Clearly, Carter loves his new MacBook Pro, appreciates the Touch Bar functionality and, most importantly, sees the new MacBook Pro as a technological step forward.

I’m looking forward to the coming wave of videos showing the Touch Bar in action.

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

The first 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models equipped with a Touch Bar will soon be making it into the hands of customers, as initial MacBook Pro orders have shifted into the “Preparing for Shipment” stage.

Customers who ordered a MacBook Pro right when it became available for purchase on October 27 received shipping estimates ranging from November 17 to November 25, and with orders ready to go, it appears customers will begin receiving their machines next week.

Here they come. Looking forward to a wave of video reviews, getting to see what Touch Bar can do in real life.

Sam Shead, writing for Business Insider:

Apple is looking to increase the size of its Siri team in Cambridge, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

In a bid to make Siri that bit more useful to iPhone, iPad and Mac owners, Apple intends to hire at least half a dozen software engineers in Cambridge in the coming months.

And:

Apple’s Cambridge office is home to many of the employees from VocalIQ — a voice recognition startup that was spun out from the university and acquired by Apple in 2015 for up to $100 million (£80 million).

Notably, one of Apple’s open job requisitions is for a Siri Operations Engineer in Cambridge.

Dan Goodwin, writing for Ars Technica:

For almost five months—possibly longer—the Spotify music streaming app has been assaulting users’ storage devices with enough data to potentially take years off their expected lifespans. Reports of tens or in some cases hundreds of gigabytes being written in an hour aren’t uncommon, and occasionally the recorded amounts are measured in terabytes. The overload happens even when Spotify is idle and isn’t storing any songs locally.

And:

Spotify officials hadn’t responded to Ars questions more than two days after they were sent. According to comments left in the Spotify forum in the past 24 hours, the bug has been fixed in version 1.0.42, which is in the process of being rolled out. The update remains unavailable to many users, this reporter included. And that means Spotify’s drive-assaulting behavior continues unabated for many.

Sounds like, if you use Spotify, get the update or disable it.

Fstoppers:

Landscape photographers know that there’s only so much you can plan. Today I want to introduce to you a fellow Dutch landscape photographer who recently came back from the volcanically active Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. What Tomas van der Weijden captured there is truly extraordinary.

It takes skill to be a good photographer but sometimes dumb luck plays a part.

Rolling Stone:

Leonard Cohen, the hugely influential singer and songwriter whose work spanned five decades, died at the age of 82. Cohen’s label, Sony Music Canada, confirmed his death on the singer’s Facebook page.

“It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away,” the statement read. “We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries. A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date. The family requests privacy during their time of grief.” A cause of death and exact date of death was not given.

After an epic tour, the singer fell into poor health. But he dug deep and came up with a powerful new album Cohen was the dark eminence among a small pantheon of extremely influential singer-songwriters to emerge in the Sixties and early Seventies. Only Bob Dylan exerted a more profound influence upon his generation, and perhaps only Paul Simon and fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell equaled him as a song poet.

2016 can’t end fast enough.

With so many P2P transactions happening during such a busy season, we’re excited to give our users an early holiday present: starting November 10, Siri will be integrated with PayPal. For iPhone and iPad users running iOS 10, making a payment has never been easier – PayPal users can now send and request money via a voice command with Siri. Simply say, “Hey Siri, send Bill $50 using PayPal.” Voila! One less thing to check off the to-do list this holiday season.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I will.

Google’s Android mobile operating system boosts competition rather than hurts it, the company’s general counsel said on Thursday, in a rebuttal of EU antitrust charges that it uses the platform to crush rivals.

This could cost Google millions.

Snopes:

On November 14 2016, the confluence of two celestial events will create what will appear to be the largest full moon (or a “supermoon”) since Harry S. Truman was president of the United States,

Two events must coincide to create the experience of a supermoon. The first is the presence of a full moon (which occurs around every 29.53 days) and the second is the moon’s closest approach to Earth, which occurs every 27.32 days,

This “extra-super rating” is no exaggeration — it is quite rare for these two events to peak within two hours of each other.

Unlike some previous “supermoons”, this one will actually be noticeably larger so, if you can, get out and enjoy it. And, if you’re a photographer, here are some tips on “How to Take a Non-Crappy Picture of the Moon“.

Jeff Cable:

Last weekend I had a chance to make the RARE visit to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. And when I say the top of the bridge, I mean the TOP of the tower of the bridge. And it was absolutely amazing!!

It was just so amazing to be up there, after 8 years of waiting for the opportunity. There was almost no wind, and it was surprisingly warm on the day we went up. We were lucky.

I’d be up there for days, mostly because I’d be paralyzed with fear. Cable got some great shots.

Somebody buy these for Jim, willya?

I found this year’s guide much simpler than last year’s. Interestingly, the MacBook is listed, but not the new MacBook Pro.

Jason Snell, writing for Macworld:

I can’t imagine a future Mac laptop with an iPad where the keyboard should be, but with a few additional bits of technology, it seems a lot less wild an idea.

As someone who enjoys typing on a physical keyboard, I’m vaguely nauseated by the idea of a keyboard that’s just a sheet of glass–but the travel on the MacBook Pro keyboard is so small already, would it be that different to remove it altogether?

And:

You can’t operate a touch-screen keyboard by feel, because the act of feeling it causes it to react.

Unless you built in pressure sensitivity that would allow that surface to react differently to hard typing taps.

By a long, long shot, I prefer a physical keyboard to one presented on a sheet of glass. As Jason says, it’s all about feel. Is it possible to use taptic feedback to improve a touch keyboard to the point where it approaches the feel of a physical keyboard?

Interesting read.

Tim Cook sent out the following email to all Apple employees last night:

Team,

I’ve heard from many of you today about the presidential election. In a political contest where the candidates were so different and each received a similar number of popular votes, it’s inevitable that the aftermath leaves many of you with strong feelings.

We have a very diverse team of employees, including supporters of each of the candidates. Regardless of which candidate each of us supported as individuals, the only way to move forward is to move forward together. I recall something Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said 50 years ago: “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” This advice is timeless, and a reminder that we only do great work and improve the world by moving forward.

While there is discussion today about uncertainties ahead, you can be confident that Apple’s North Star hasn’t changed. Our products connect people everywhere, and they provide the tools for our customers to do great things to improve their lives and the world at large. Our company is open to all, and we celebrate the diversity of our team here in the United States and around the world — regardless of what they look like, where they come from, how they worship or who they love.

I’ve always looked at Apple as one big family and I encourage you to reach out to your co-workers if they are feeling anxious.

Let’s move forward — together!

Best,

Tim

Good words.

The recent botnet attacks have called into question the security of all our various internet of Things (ioT) devices, and rightfully so. Those attacks happened because people like you and me had routers, webcams and other gizmos in our homes that were not properly secured. Some of those security issues are fixable by general users, but many are not.

Very interesting article from Dave Hamilton.

BBC:

The first of six behind-the-scenes videos the BBC is releasing as companions to the new series. But not just any videos: These are 360-degree films. Click and drag on the picture and you can actually look around as the crew works its magic.

Utterly stunning.

Apple:

Apple Support app is your personalized guide to the best options from Apple. Find answers with articles tailored to your products and questions. Call, chat or email with an expert right away, or schedule a callback when it’s convenient. Get a repair at an Apple Store or a nearby Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Good to see Apple extending the reach and places where you can get support and assistance.

UPDATE: Sorry. This is only available in the Netherlands for the time being.

A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected Airbnb’s request to block a San Francisco law that forbids the home-rental company from taking bookings from hosts who have not registered their home with the city.

I love stories like this. He’s had this guitar for 40 years.

Ireland’s government will this week formally submit its appeal against the European Commission’s multi-billion-euro demand for back taxes from Apple, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday.

Not a big surprise, but good to see.

Touch Bar demo app:

Touch Bar Demo App allows you to use your macOS Touch Bar from an iPad (through USB connection) or on-screen by pressing the Fn-key. It shows the original Apple Touch Bar, which changes dynamically based on the app you’re currently using. With this demo app, you can try out the Touch Bar on any Mac that does not have a physical Touch Bar.

This is far too nerdy for me to attempt but if it works like it does in the video, it’s pretty cool.

I really enjoy Om’s photographs. The fact he has such great things to say about the iPhone 7 camera says a lot, especially considering he has a number of high-end cameras at his disposal.

Good rundown from MacRumors on the changes in the newest developer beta.

Compressors are so important in mixing—I use them quite a bit in a variety of ways, depending on the instrument or what I’m trying to achieve on an output channel.

The biggest overhaul of the app in nearly four years. It’s the Gmail you know and love, with a fresh new look, sleeker transitions and some highly-requested features.

Ars Technica:

Adobe has demonstrated tech that lets you edit recorded speech so that you can alter what that person said or create an entirely new sentence from their voice. It seems inevitable that it will eventually be referred to as “photoshop but for audio.”

VoCo works by ingesting a large amount of voice data (about 20 minutes right now, but that’ll be improved), breaking it down into phonemes (each of the distinct sounds that make up a spoken language), and then attempting to create a voice model of the speaker—presumably stuff like cadence, stresses, quirks, etc., but Adobe hasn’t provided much detail yet.

Yeah this won’t be used for bad purposes. Nope, not at all.

Relying on your brain for remembering everything? Are things slipping through the cracks? Get organized and increase productivity with Daylite.

Your brain is for ideas, not for remembering things. Free up your mind for ideas by leveraging Daylite to remember all your client and project details. Imagine having all your client info, email history, project details, tasks, and a shared calendar with your team – all in one app. That’s what Daylite does.

Clear out the clutter in your brain. Make more room for your ideas and plans.

Try Daylite free for 30 days. The Loop Sponsorship special- mention you heard about Daylite through The Loop and get a 50% credit on your first month subscription.

Petapixel:

Olympus has said the only thing standing between the OM-D E-M1 Mark II and better stabilization is the rotation of the Earth—and so far, the camera’s bite is living up to the bark. In fact, the 6.5-stop stabilization is so powerful, it looks like you can capture sharp hand-held 5 second exposures!

If that sounds too amazing to be true, join the club. Even the photographer who captured the shots we’re about to show you can hardly believe it. Robin Wong, an Olympus Malaysia employee, posted these shots on his blog. Hand-held photos he says were turning out sharp at a whopping 5 seconds.

The photographers reading the headline immediately called BS. Check out the website of the original shooter. He’s got some amazing shots at ridiculous exposures. I love my Olympus M-1 but the Mark II sounds incredible.